Over Half of Japanese Citizens View Government's Response to Noto Peninsula Earthquake Positively

Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating Rises by 3 Percentage Points

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (second from right) visited an evacuation center in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture on the 14th and shook hands with disaster victims.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

More than half of Japanese people positively evaluated the government's response to the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on the 1st. Support for the Kishida Cabinet also rose by 3 percentage points.

According to local public broadcaster NHK on the 15th, a telephone survey conducted from the 12th to the 14th targeting 1,212 adults aged 18 and over nationwide (based on valid respondents) showed that 55% responded positively to the government's response to the Noto earthquake. Negative evaluations accounted for 40%.

Accordingly, support for the Kishida Cabinet recorded 26%, up 3 percentage points from last month. The percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida Cabinet fell by 2 percentage points to 56%.

The support rate for the Kishida Cabinet announced by Kyodo News the previous day also rose by 5 percentage points from the previous month to 27.3%.

However, there were more negative evaluations regarding the ruling Liberal Democratic Party faction's slush fund scandal.

When asked whether the establishment of a 'Political Reform Headquarters' within the LDP by Prime Minister Kishida to enhance political funding transparency and review measures to prevent recurrence would lead to the restoration of public trust, 78% responded 'No.'

The highest response at 49% was that the LDP factions should be disbanded, and 40% said that even if the factions are maintained, they should be reformed. Regarding whether it is necessary to revise the Political Funds Control Act to make the rules stricter, 83% responded 'Necessary.'